Christ is the Self

Sri Lakshmana Swamy

Q: I am a Christian but I feel attracted to name and form meditation. Can I concentrate on the name and form of Christ, and do I need a living Guru to help me in this type of meditation?

LS: During his lifetime Christ guided his disciples, but now he is dead he has no name and no form. He is the universal Self. How can you concentrate on something that has no name and no form. Repeating the name of Christ or visualizing his picture may help you to concentrate, but you will not realize the Self by doing this. For that you need a living Guru. When a Guru dies he no longer has any name and form so you cannot use that name and form to get his grace because it is not his anymore. He is just the Self within, eternal peace and bliss, with no name and no form.

If you call on Christ earnestly a vision of his form may appear to you. But this is not Christ, it is just a picture created by your mind. 

Q: You are saying that I need a living Guru to realize the Self?

LS: Yes.

Q: In the Bible Jesus says that after he goes to heaven he will send the holy spirit to guide his followers to the end of time.

LS: The spirit is the Self and the Self has guided you here. Christ is the Self. Now he no longer has a body he is within you as your own Self. "The kingdom of heaven is within you," he says. He knew that by direct experience. When he said "I and the Father are one" he was saying that there was no distinction between himself and God. That God is now within you as your own Self, but you will never realize it without a living guru to guide you.

You have many doubts. You must have faith. Find a living guru and have faith in him. He will give you guidance and remove all your doubts for you.